Corruption
by HunterBlaine
Summary: Set shortly after team RWBY's graduation A few months after a falling out with Blake, Yang vanishes on a mission. She returns later, no longer herself Pairings: WhiteRose, Eventual Bumblebee
1. Chapter 1

**Hey there folks and welcome to..well this story. Yeah idk where I was going with that. Anyways, this is an idea I've had kicking around in my head for a bit so..may as well get started with it.**

Chapter 1: Prologue

- **Patch, 4 months ago-**

Ruby hadn't been expecting Blake and Yang's talk to go all that well. Having known for a couple days now about what Blake was intending to say, she knew it would probably lead to a mess. Shortly after they'd left to take a walk, She'd been outside playing with Zwei when she'd heard shouting voices coming up the path back towards the house. Hurrying back inside she sent a frantic text to her girlfriend, Weiss Schnee who was currently visiting Winter in Atlas.

 _Ruby: Weiss? Are you up? Oh man…this is SO not going to end well._

 _Weiss: I am NOW. What's wrong? Are you okay?'_

 _Ruby: I'M fine. I can't say the same for the house when they get in here. I haven't heard Yang yell that loud in a long time.._

She felt her scroll vibrate with the reply, but had her attention torn away from the screen with the harsh slamming of the front door. "Ohh no…" she whimpered

"You are being completely ridiculous Yang!" She heard Blake snap, followed by several loud thuds, probably Yang punching a wall or two again. Ruby was grateful Taiyang was out on a mission right now..though she didn't look forward to explaining the holes when he returned.

"I'M being ridiculous?! You're the one running away halfway across the god forsaken world and leaving me behind!" Yang yelled, the mixture of pain and fury in her voice making Ruby, and she could imagine Blake, wince a bit.

"Im going to come back! Why the hell can't you get that?! Im not leaving for good!" Yang let out a humorless laugh that trailed off into a growl.

"I'm so fucking sure." Blake let out an exasperated sigh, clearly running out of patience with this argument rather quickly. "You know what, Blake? Go. I won't even try to stop you, just GO!" Another loud thud. Ruby glanced down, realizing her scroll had buzzed a few more times.

 _Weiss: Ruby? Ruby are you still there?_

 _Weiss: Ruby, come on you can't message me with that then go silent, your going to start worrying me._

 _Weiss: Ruby Rose, you answer me right this instant!_

 _Ruby allowed herself to tune out the the continued argument downstairs for a moment, lifting the scroll back up to type her reply._

 _Ruby: Weiss I'm really freaking out.._

 _Weiss: Maybe you should get out of the house until it's over. Maybe go stay with Jaune and Pyrrha?_

 _Ruby: I can't get an airship this late to Vale, or I probably would. Then again I wouldn't want to bother them with this anyway. Maybe I should say something to them.._

 _Weiss: Only if your sure. Your sister isn't exactly reasonable when she's in the state your describing._

 _Ruby: She wouldn't do anything to me, I'm sure of that. I can't stand this anymore..I'm going._

 _Weiss: Let me know how it goes. I love you, Ruby._

Ruby felt a smile break out onto her face. They'd been together since the start of their fourth year at Beacon and she still never got tired of reading or hearing those words.

 _Ruby: I love you too, princess_.

Tossing her scroll aside, she nervously made her way down the stairs, seeing she'd been correct in what the thudding sounds were. Their yelling halted for the moment, Blake was watching Yang pacing around, her eyes full of new tears to go with the streaks already running down her face. Yang's hair was glowing faintly, her eyes a deep crimson as she muttered under breath. Blake looked up when Ruby cleared her throat, turning away when she realized her leader had heard everything.

"I tried to keep the conversation outside but..you know her,"

She said, her voice trembling, but eyes narrowed at Yang who snapped her eyes towards Blake, lips curling back into a snarl.

"You know what-"

"HEY!" Ruby said, raising her voice to make Yang turn her full attention towards her sister. The angry look faltered briefly, but didn't leave. "Yang, you need to take a few deep breathes, and calm the hell down. God, look at what you've done! Dad's going to have a fit."

"Ask me if I care right now! Guess what Ruby? Blake's going on a nice little trip to Vacuo. You know, the place that's basically in a civil war right now? And hoo boy, wait until you hear the best part! Im not allowed to go according to her! Isn't that the most idiotic thing you've ever heard?" She stared at her sister, expecting to see shock, irritation towards Blake, anything like that. But she saw only sympathy towards..her. It took a second for the gears to click, her hair glowing a bit brighter. "You knew?'!"

"Yang, don't blame her! I asked her not to tell you," Blake said, turning to Ruby. "I..I'm so sorry. I've been trying to explain what's going on but she wouldn't let me. She just started flipping out." Ruby slowly made her way over to Yang, standing between the two of them. "Ruby..?" Blake asked nervously.

"Yang..I want you to let her talk. Don't yell, don't interrupt." She growled a bit when Yang went to open her mouth. "Let. Her. Speak." Yang kept her eyes locked on Blake, but backed away a bit, fists still clenched tight. "Go ahead, Blake." Blake gave Ruby a brief grateful smile before it dropped and she stared down at her feet.

"L-Look Yang..this wasn't an easy decision to make, believe me. But I need to be there for this. If what my father told me is true..we have a real chance of finally accomplishing something big. HE has been spotted in Vacuo. Yang..Adam is alive." That name caused the anger of Yang's face to finally fall away, replaced by open mouthed shock. Recovering, Yang shook her head slowly.

"No..no..that's not possible." Adam Taurus hadn't been heard from for over two years, following a failed coup in Mistral against the ruling council.. Team RWBY had been one of the teams present when the airship that he had hijacked went down. Though the authorities had presumed him dead, no body was ever found. Blake knew he'd resurface eventually, and here he was, leading another attack but this time putting Blake's own parents in danger. They'd barely escaped Menagerie when the White Fang had been split in two by Adam's movement now he was in Vacuo where they had relocated afterwards. Enough was enough.

"It's true, Yang. They..they spotted him leaving the scene of an attack. My father knows what he looks like, and he wouldn't bring this up to me if he wasn't sure." She saw Yang process this, before sighing internally at the look she gave her.

"You better believe I'm not staying out of this now," she growled.

"Yang I'm asking you, as your girlfriend, PLEASE listen to me on this..i can't let you do that." Yang growled, her body beginning to shake a bit

"Why in the name of Remnant not?!"

"The same reason you had me stay away when you went after your mother!" Another stunned silence filled the room before Yang looked away.

"That isn't the same thing."

"The hell it's not! See, I knew you'd say that. You told me you didn't want me anywhere near your mother after the one run in we had, right?"

"She stabbed you Blake-"

"And Adam cut your damn arm off, Yang!" She snapped. Yang flinched back, her flesh hand unconsciously curling around the cool metal of her prosthetic arm. "You think I didn't go through what I'm asking you to go through now? The worrying, the staying up late because you can't sleep because your scared to death that the person you love is never going to come home? You think, if this wasn't as important to me as it was, that I would even CONSIDER putting you through that hell?

"But that's not-do I not have a right to be there to get even with that bastard?! After everything he put me through?! It's important to me too!" She snapped, frustration once again beginning to overrule her mind.

"Yang…this is something from MY past. Something that I've wanted to settle once and for all for a very long time. Im not saying you don't have a right. But I also know that if you see him again and god forbid something happened..you could get killed. I'm asking-begging- you to stay out of this for me. I respected your wish when you wanted me to stay out of you chasing Raven-"

"Raven wasn't in the middle of a war zone Blake! How the hell can you even compare it?!" Blake sighed, this time in aggravation.

"This is so typical.." she muttered.

"Excuse me?"

"It's just typical that when it's something for ME your outright refusing to listen to reason and keep insisting that you have to be there. But when it was you and something personal for you? You wanted me to understand and even though it killed me waiting to see you again, I dealt with it and I DID understand! Why is it so damn hard for you to do the same?!"

"Yang?" Ruby asked gently, seeing Yang's eyes fall to the floor.

"I won't be alone. I'll have my father and everyone loyal to him, Sun will be there-" she regretted saying that the moment she saw Yang's glare return, even worse more vicious now.

" _Sun_?! So IM not welcome on this grand mission of yours, but your ex is right?"

"Oh my god are you really going to take this in that direction?!" Blake said, not believing what she is hearing. "Yang he is already IN Vacuo. I can't just throw him in a box and ship him back to Mistral. Now your definitely just being stupid."

"Oh really? Well if Im SO stupid Blake, why are you with me?!"

"You know what? Good question!" Blake snapped back, covering her mouth the moment she said it. Yang's eyes filled with tears and she clenched her fists so hard Ruby was sure she'd be drawing blood soon.

"Get out."

"What?"

"Get. OUT. Go do your thing in Vacuo, just do me a favor and DON'T come back when your done," Yang snarled, her teeth gritted. Blake's eyes started to water briefly, but she angrily wiped her eyes and turned on her heel, heading for the door.

"Some girlfriend you turned out to be," she mumbled. Yang turned away, her hands dropping from her waist.

"Right back at you," she muttered. The door slammed as Blake left, and that's when Yang finally let some tears run down her face, her chest heaving a bit with a few sobs, Ruby having to run forward and keep her from falling to her knees.

- **Anima, present day** -

Yang pressed her back against the tree, her breaths coming in quick, pained gasps as she pressed her palm against her side. "Well..this is another fine mess I've gotten myself into.." she mumbled as she felt the blood seeping through her fingers. It had been such a simple sounding mission too. Some corporation-M.I. Whatever the hell that stood for-posted about a group of Grimm attacking their supply caravans. Piece of cake right? Wrong. They had horribly miscounted how many Grimm were in the pack. By the time she was done with them,Her aura had been so depleted d that when..whatever this thing was had found her, she had been easy pickings for the slashing claws of the beast.

She'd never encountered anything like it before. It was some type of reptile, from the way it moved and the scaly appearance. It stood at least a foot taller than her and had massive fangs to fit with its jaw. It had closed in on her quicker than she could blink, tearing into her. She'd managed to get away for the moment, but off in the distance she could hear it searching for her. Checking her gauntlets, she realized she only had a couple shots left in each, not that it mattered. The bony plating of the thing was damn near impervious to her gauntlet shells.

"It'll be alright. I just..got to make it to the meet up point. They said they'd have a ride waiting for me.." she said, shakily getting to her feet. This was the LAST time she was taking on a hunt from this infernal town for a while. "Maybe I should have taken Rubes up on that offer to come with.." she muttered wincing as her side throbbed again. She made it a few steps more but when she had to stop, her blood ran cold when she heard the hissing again. She spun and saw the monster closing in again, but it was moving slower than when it first attacked her. Was it hurt more than she realized? No, that couldn't be it. She knew she hadn't inflicted any serious damage to the thing, a couple flesh wounds at best.

"It's fucking toying with me. Ain't that just wonderful," she snapped trying to pick up her pace a bit, her vision starting to blur at the edges as more blood ran from her wound. She cursed dropping her pack when the Grimm had found her earlier. It had all of her bandages and other aid supplies. She checked her scroll, seeing she was closing on the meet up point, which was along one of the few backroads that led through the forest. She could hear the monster not far behind, it's pace quickened and slowed according to her. It was in no rush to get her, and that was truly terrifying. Whoever they were sending better have a big gun. Padding through one more patch of brown and yellow muck, she broke through the tree line to see a small off-road vehicle parked near the edge, two men with what appeared to be heavy rifles and combat armor walked over to her.

"You're the huntress who answered our mission request, yes?" Yang nodded tiredly, her vision more blurry than a moment ago, legs shaking a bit.

"T-That would be me..and I hope those damn rifles of yours pack a mean punch because theres this nasty bugger following me..."

"Not to worry, we'll handle it. Perhaps you should lay down." Yang shook her head and turned as she heard the monster closer than ever now, raising her gauntlets, ready to at least fire her final few shots into the creature before she passed out. What she hadn't expected was the moment it broke through the trees, one of the guards raised up some strange device. It was about the size of a pocket watch, a glowing green light emanating from it in pulsing waves. The monster stared for a moment at them before turning and retreating back into the woods.

"Okay..what the-" her next words were silenced by the thud of the others rifle against the back of her neck. She stared up, her mind slipping into darkness, the last words she was able to make out:

"Inform Dr Merlot we have a new test subject for him.

 **So I hope you enjoyed this little intro chapter. Ive got the writing bug like crazy lately.**

 **Review/fave/follow if you enjoyed it, its greatly appreciated**

 **See you next time everyone**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey there readers and welcome back to Corruption. Okay, so I was NOT expecting this story to get follows and favorites so quickly and already 5 reviews! Holy hell, I love you people.**

Chapter 2: Something's wrong

 **-Weiss and Ruby's apartment, 6 days after Yang's capture-**

Ruby let out a long sigh as she leaned against the kitchen counter. She really shouldn't be up at this time, especially considering Weiss would always go all pouty if Ruby wasn't beside her when she woke up. As cute as that sounded though, Ruby couldn't sleep if you paid her to. To say she was starting to worry would be the biggest understatement in Remnant. She knew that when her sister was upset or depressed that Yang would throw herself into missions to keep her mind off of whatever was going on. Since her and Blake had split up this habit had increased tenfold, her father telling her that Yang was never home for more than a day or two at a time anymore. She'd gather up a small list of job requests that needed done and would simply disappear for days at a time to complete them.

Yang was a phenomenal huntress, but even the best could break down, and Ruby was beginning to fear that her limit might have finally come up, because she was three days late for her update. It was something RWBY had decided on shortly after graduation-if you had to be away on a solo mission for an extended length of time always check in every couple of days. This was so the rest of the team knew what was happening and if you needed help. Even after Blake left, Yang followed this rule, though Ruby had a feeling if it wasn't for her she wouldn't.

But now she had been completely silent for six straight days, and that could really only mean a couple things: either Yang was so busy on this hunt she didn't have a free moment or..something had gone very very wrong. Neither prospect was something Ruby really wanted to consider too much. Yang…what have you gotten yourself into this time?.

"Worrying yourself sick isn't going to help anyone, you know." Ruby jumped a bit, feeling Weiss' arms wrap firmly around her waist, pressing her face into her girlfriends shoulder. Ruby smiled softly and placed her hands over top of Weiss', leaning back against her a bit.

"I know just..I can't help it. I get so worried about her when she pulls stunts like this. She hasn't been the same since her and Blake split up up," she said softly. Weiss squeezed her tighter and kissed her cheek gently.

"I'm sure she's just fine Ruby..she probably just got held up and is trying to wrap some things up. She's forgetful, you know that." Ruby wanted to relax, because it was true and all, but it still ate at her. Weiss could sense that she was still tense and let out a quiet sigh "Tell you what…I'll see if I can talk to Ozpin. All official missions have to be registered through the council, so he would probably be able to help us somehow." Ruby smiled and turned around, pressing her forehead against Weiss'

"Have I ever told you how much I love you?" She whispered. Weiss brought one of her hands from Ruby's waist and put it on her cheek, gently stroking it with her thumb.

"Many times..but it doesn't mean I ever get tired of hearing it," she smiled, leaning in and giving her a soft kiss, smiling into it when she felt Ruby shiver a bit. Weiss returned the grin Ruby gave her as she pulled away. "And I love you too, Ruby. With all my heart," she said. Ruby let out a content sigh, closing her eyes. After a couple minutes she slowly backed away, but still kept her arms around Weiss. "Now will you please come back to bed? It's pretty lonely without you there," she pouted. To Ruby's credit she managed to last a whole fifteen seconds before she sighed and nodded.

"I can't say no to you when you do that, can I princess? Alright, let's go." Weiss rolled her eyes playfully as they began heading back towards their room.

"Welcome to my world. You had zero shame using that puppy face against me back in school missy, so you don't get to complain that I've mastered it as well," she smirked. Ruby giggled quietly as they shut the bedroom door behind them.

 **-Beacon Academy, Ozpins office-**

It had been a while since Ruby had set foot in this office. Last time had been just before the graduation ceremony to discuss with Ozpin, just as the other graduating team leaders had, how team RWBY would be handling post-graduation life. All teams had the option of remaining together officially, thus leaving them options for group calls. Or they could agree to formally disband the team and be solo huntresses. To Ruby's knowledge, only team CRSN had taken that option. Disband team RWBY, even if it would just be on paper?

The thought hadn't even been in consideration for any of them. The elevator behind them dinged as the doors hissed open, Ozpin walking briskly to his desk, Glynda following closely behind as always. "Forgive me for making the two of you wait, but I'm sure your aware of the..problems that come with running the school," he said with a chuckle. Glynda scowled and rolled her eyes.

"Honestly you let them off FAR too easily, Professor. It will take three weeks at best to get that classroom back in shape." Ruby and Weiss exchanged a confused look. "If your curious, Professor Port thought it would be simply 'glorious' to have live Grimm training again."

"Oh, is that all? We did that all the time in there," Ruby smiled. Ozpin nodded, still smiling even as Glynda's right eye twitched a bit in agitation .

"Yes well, that's all well and good if it's merely a Boarbatusk, but I think BOTH of you would have to agree an Ursa is a bit much," she said. Weiss nodded, but Ruby merely shrugged. Ozpin held a hand up to hold off Glynda's next comment.

"As amusing as this all is, I feel we should get down to the reason you've requested this meeting, yes?" He reached into his desk and pulled out a yellow folder, filled to the point of bulging out with papers. He sat it down, the white label at the top read 'Yang Xiao Long'. "Your sister has been quite busy of late, has she not? Her solo file is starting to rival your team file." Ruby sighed sadly, her eyes falling to the floor as Ozpin slowly sorted through the contents. Weiss cleared her throat, sitting up straight as she took Ruby's hand tightly.

"That is quite correct, sir. We've been worried because she hasn't contacted us in a week and were wondering if you could tell us anything," she said. Ozpin nodded and quickly shuffled to the final couple of pages.

"She was in Anima, looking into a few odd attacks on several small settlements. Her last check in was…" he frowned at the date. "Right around the time you say she went silent. She reported the destruction of a Taijitu nest near Kuronami and then was moving towards Saitowa to wipe out some Grimm that were harassing a merchant companies supply carriers." Ruby nodded

"She called us when she was almost there and said she'd talk to us as soon as the job was done, but then nothing." Ozpin handed the paper to Glynda.

"There are two numbers on that, one for the company that put out the request and one for the mayor of the town near the mission site. Call those and see if Miss Xiao Long reported success to them, or if they've seen her at all." Glynda nodded and went off to the side to do so. Ozpin cleared his throat, folding his hands in front of him. "I hesitate to ask, and I mean absolutely no offense you understand but..are you certain she isn't contacting you simply because she is choosing no to? Her..drive to keep herself busy is related to a falling out with Miss Belladonna yes?"Weiss sighed softly and gripped Ruby's hand tighter when she felt it begin to tremble.

"I doubt very much that is the case, sir. No matter how upset she was about the situation with Blake, she always kept us informed, if for no other reason than to put Ruby at ease. And she always followed the regulations for keeping you and the rest of the council informed of her progress. No..if she's been quiet this long something happened." They sat quietly for a few minutes, the only sound being Glynda's quiet conversation over the scroll while Weiss gently kissed Ruby's hands trying to keep her calm, Ozpin looking over some more of Yang's file. Finally, Glynda cleared her throat and walked over, an uneasy look on her face.

"The mayor hasn't heard from nor seen Miss Xiao Long since she left to the woods to complete the mission. At first I thought she may have been checked into their medic for injuries and he just didn't notice but..he checked and they haven't seen her either." Ozpin's eyes widened slightly while Ruby's watered, her face going paler.

"This..is certainly not good," Ozpin said softly. Glynda shifted a bit, looking only at him, not wanting to see Ruby at the moment.

"There's more bad news, I'm afraid. The company that put out the contract? The number provided is no longer in service." Ozpin's eyes narrowed again, not liking the sound of that.

"Your certain?" With her nod, He let out a long breath. "Then I can assume that the incidents are connected. And if they are, that is a very big problem."

"You think the company is responsible for what happened to Yang," Weiss said in more of a statement than a question. Ozpin nodded and Weiss glared. "Then they'll pay dearly for harming one of MY teammates I can assure you of that," she said firmly. Glynda smiled a bit at that.

"They won't know what hit them, that's for certain. Does Miss Belladonna know about this at all?" Weiss felt Ruby tense up at this, her jaw clenching tightly.

"No. And I don't want her here." Everyone was taken aback by the tone in her voice. "If she hadn't run off on another one of her grand quests, my sister wouldn't have been such a wreck the last few months. She doesn't care," she snapped. Weiss stood and pulled Ruby along with her.

"Please excuse us?" Ozpin nodded and Ruby and Weiss stepped away. "Ruby we need to tell Blake. She's part of this team as well, and you know that she would be furious if we didn't tell her about this. Ruby's glare didn't soften a bit, her eyes staring at the floor.

"If Blake had just stayed-"

"She had her reasons Ruby..Blake always did. From what you told me Yang wasn't blameless in what happened between them. And besides, if she doesn't drop it the moment she finds out, I'd be shocked. I understand your anger towards her but..we should at least tell her. She did send me that message about a month after she left. She said we could call any time if there was ever an emergency remember? I think this qualifies, don't you?" She placed a hand under Ruby's chin and lifted it up. "For me?" Weiss had to fight back a smirk as the anger faded from Ruby's eyes.

"Damn you….fine. I hate when you use that voice," she said, the tiny smile on her lips contrasting with the feigned annoyance. Weiss kissed her nose and smiled.

"Forgive me if I don't believe you. Now then .." they walked back over to Ozpins desk and sat back down, Weiss taking a deep breath before speaking. "We'll inform Blake once we leave. Where do we go from here?" Ozpin closed Yang's folder into his desk, then gently pushed his glasses up a bit.

"I will inform the other council members of her disappearance at once, naturally. Once that's done she will be declared missing and the task of assigning hunters to the business of finding her will be much less of a paperwork nightmare. Time is of the essence in cases such as these, after all. Will it just be your team on this mission?" Ruby mulled it over in her mind, thinking of her other friends. JNPR and CFVY were always options, but she had no idea what their workload was like already and wouldn't feel right dragging them from it.

"For now, yes. Might be better if we keep our numbers down, right?" Ozpin nodded. "Then I guess that's all for now..c'mon Weiss," she said as they stood. Ozpin stood and folded his hands behind his back.

"Miss Rose I am very sorry this has occurred. You have my word that she WILL be found. I will use every resource I can to assure this." Ruby smiled a bit, thankful for this before walking back to the elevator with Weiss. When the door closed, Weiss pulled Ruby close and a moment later the girl finally broke down completely, sobs wracking her chest.

"Shhh…she'll be just fine Ruby. We'll find her, and everything will work out. I swear." Ruby nodded, hiccuping a bit as she tried to get her breathing back under control. She trusted Ozpin and Glynda, and she definitely trusted Weiss. She just wasn't sure what she would do with herself if it turned out they were all wrong. Weiss pulled out her scroll as they stepped out onto Beacons campus and held it to her ear after pressing a few buttons. "Blake? Can you hear me okay? B-Blake! Look slow down, okay? Yes, there's..theres something very wrong."

 **-Unknown location-**

Yang groaned softly as she heard the sounds of faint voices growing closer to her. The pitch black darkness of the cell around her only broken by a faintly flickering light in the hallway outside. "Bad enough I'm trapped here, they can't have the decency to let me sleep in peace for a few hours?" She muttered. Two figures appeared outside the cell door, their faces not visible through their helmets. Their get up reminded her of the Atlesian soldier uniforms only the colors were a deep purple and black instead of the bluish white. "What? Time to eat more of that slop you call food?" She said.

"Nope. Time for you to have a meeting with our employer. He is very interested in meeting you. Were just here to insure you won't be..harming him." Yang scoffed a bit and held up her hands as best she could.

"The restraints and taking my gauntlets away aren't enough?"

"Call this an extra insurance policy." They unlocked the door and entered, holding a round metallic object with glowing red lights along it. Yang flinched a bit as she was yanked forward by her hair, the ring opening up and clamping around her neck. Yang wanted to wring his neck for what he'd just done, but was feeling too weak to do much of anything. It felt like the time time she'd been stung by Deathstalker, but it was different in a way. Her body began to feel cold to the point she looked down to see her hands shaking, her eyes snapped back to the men

"Wha..What did you just do to me?" She whispered.

"That device nullifies your aura." This was a new voice, and Yang forced herself to the side enough to look and felt her heart drop to her stomach. If the hair and almost manic smirk weren't enough of a giveaway, the mechanical eye would be. Dr Merlot. " I always find this process goes much smoother when the subjects aura isn't there to interfere. It has been some time, my dear. I trust my men have been treating you well enough, and that your new accommodations are to your liking?" Yang glared at him, her eyes burning in anger.

"Oh yeah doc, I really dig the 'creepy asshole' motif you've given the place. Then again the only thing I have to compare it to is the real world. Y'know where I was FREE," she snapped. Merlot chuckled softly.

"Now now, certainly there's no reason for you to be so hostile towards me. Not when I am about to offer you something so amazing," he said. Yang's glare faded to a look of confusion as he produced a small glass jar from his lab coats pocket. He held it up closer and Yang couldn't quite believe what she was seeing.

"Is..is that a GRIMM?" She whispered in shock. It was no bigger than Yang's palm, but you could tell from the bony spines along it's back and the red eyes atop its head. Merlot's smirk grew at her reaction.

"Indeed it is, my dear. A new breed of Grimm that will forever change the landscape of Remnant. The means to creating a true Grimm-human hybrid." The sick sense of pride that Merlot's voice gave off made Yang's skin crawl.

"What, toying around with bigger Grimm become to scary for you? Or did you just finally graduate to the next grade level of being bat shit insane?" She said.

"Charming. You sound an awful lot like my so called 'colleagues' who called me mad for wishing to truly understand and turn the Grimm to our own means. The fools. Had they listened humanity would have reaped the benefits, now they will suffer while her grace watches them burn. And you, Yang Xiao Long…you will be helping me accomplish this task." Yang scoffed, her lips twisting up into a snarl.

"Pal, you are seriously a few rounds short of a clip aren't you? There is no way in hell I would ever consider helping you," she snapped furiously.

"There's that endearing sense of humor again. I will miss it when your under my employ, but such is the price of progress." He handed the jar over to one of the men then whistled, another one coming in with a syringe full of a faintly glowing purple fluid. "Ensure she's bound," He instructed. The cold had all but numbed her hands at this point but Yang still felt the chains yanked tighter.

"This mixture will..dull your mind. Ensure the process goes as quickly as possible. You'll thank me, as my last few subjects told me how excruciatingly painful it was for them." Yang tried as hard as she could to move her arm away, but he held it down and injected her. It took a few minutes, but soon she began to feel the room growing even darker, having a hard time focusing on even the conversation between Merlot and the one holding the jar.

The lip was unscrewed and Merlot gently lifted the tiny Grimm out, while one of the soldiers took a knife from his pouch and sliced her arm open. He slowly held it out and Yang saw it's body briefly shift into a shadowy mist that entered through the open wound. Even through her clouded senses, Yang felt the Grimm moving up her arm, like a bug underneath her skin. She wanted to throw up, scream and to break Merlot in half all at once, but she could do nothing as the Grimm reached the top of her shoulder, crawling over it and around to the back of her neck where her spine rested. When it slowly began inching up from there, she closed her eyes, trying her hardest to think of ANYTHING other than what was happening to her.

 _'Someone help me..Ruby..Weiss..Blake..'_

The Grimm finally reached the very back of her head and from there she felt something happening, like dark tendrils wrapping around them and dragging them off , images of her friends began to darken and fade away into nothing. She shook her head as she fought to stay focused but it was no good. It was hard to focus on anything now, the darkness strongly choking away any thought's she tried to conjure forth.

Her eyes shot open, fearful tears bursting from her eyes and although she couldn't see for herself, Merlot marveled at how the whites of her eyes had begun to become a deep pitch black and the soft lilac began to swim with flecks of angry crimson that were slowly taking over. As her consciousness began to drift away even further, Yang felt something bubble to the surface, a rage unlike anything she'd ever experienced. This was primal. An urge to rip apart anything that sat before her, and it began to dominate everything.

Merlot cleared his throat and motioned for his men to follow him out. "Let us take our leave for the moment gentlemen. We'll not want to be here when its complete. Their always so vicious at first. The cleared out in record time, following their leader down the hall. He heard Yang let out a choked sob that sounded more like a growl now.

 _"SOMEBODY HELP ME! PLEASE!"_

His smirk only grew as she let out one loud scream that slowly gave way to a snarling howl. Yang Xiao Long was now far beyond anyones help and the thought delighted him to no end.

 **So thank you so much for reading and your patience. Ive been pretty bummed lately, with my RTX plans going bye bye and haven't had the will to write for a bit, but im glad I got this cranked out for you guys**

 **Reviews are always appreciated**

 **I shall see you next time**


	3. Chapter 3

**Im baaaack. Haha, okay moving on. Welcome to this new chapter for Corruption. Im floored by the support this story has gotten and as such, I wont keep you waiting much longer. I apologize for the wait on this guys. I had some medical problems crop up a couple months ago, and I was honestly just too physically and mentally exhausted to write properly. But, I'm finally over the hump and feel good continuing. So lets get to it.**

Chapter 3: A dead end

- **Anima, 3 days later** -

Blake had known for some time now that Ruby had a darker side. Everything she went through, not only as a child but in her early years as a team leader had contributed to that. It was something that tended to come out only in battle though, and it was extremely rare to see her so livid outside of combat. Now that she was the target of such anger though, she felt a tad sorry for their enemies.

When Blake had arrived at the meet up point back in Vale, Ruby had looked ready to give her a punch to her face. It was only the fact that Weiss had been there and had stood between them that had prevented that. As angry as Ruby was, Weiss had a calming effect on her that kept her in check. At least for now.

The ironic part about that was Blake wouldn't have blamed her if she had snapped. She hated how she had left things with Yang, and had thought about coming back more times than she was able to count. It was her fear of facing Yang after everything that was said that kept holding her back. Now she was regretting that even more knowing something had happened to her.

The village where Yang had last been spotted wasn't exactly along the main roads. They had to cut through a rather large stretch of countryside to get to it, but eventually they had found it. They headed for the mayors home and when he opened the door, Blake knew from the look on his face he'd been expecting this. He showed them in and they sat around a tea kettle that was nearly boiling.

"She was a rather entertaining guest, for sure. Loved to crack these really terrible jokes, but they were so bad that a few were actually funny," he chuckled. Ruby smiled a bit at that, Weiss taking her hand in her own as she too listened.

"Your absolutely sure she didn't come back and you just didn't notice?" Blake asked.

"Im positive. Not even to tell me the job was done or collect the posted reward the company left for her." He walked over to his desk and produced a small bag of lien. Weiss took it in her hands, but it was unmarked, just a plain brown leather bag.

"What about the guy who left the payment for her? You remember stuff off about him, what he looked like anything like that?" The mans face twisted up a bit as he struggled to think of any details that may be useful, but he found nothing.

"No…Im sorry I can't be of more assistance to you, but he seemed like a regular man, nothing about him that really stuck out as all that suspicious, to me at least." The girls glanced at one another before nodding. Weiss stood up, brushing herself off before clearing her throat.

"Well, if that's all you can tell us, I think we'd like to go into the woods and search for anything that may tell us what happened. Ruby and Blake stood as well when the mayor did.

"I can certainly do that…if your sure it's a good idea, that is. Meaning no offense, but that blonde girl looked very strong and if something happened to her in there-"

"She was also alone. Your concern is appreciated, but we can handle ourselves," Weiss said. Blake and Ruby nodded their agreement and the man led them out the door, out towards the trees that overlooked the west side of the settlement. He pointed towards the path that cut into it, and wished them luck before turning around and heading back towards his home.

They started down the path, ducking under low hanging branches in some spots as they did. As they walked, Blake looked around, checking for anything out of the ordinary. She saw no Grimm, at least not right now, but the whole place gave off a dark vibe that shivers up her spine.

"Why would Yang think it was a good idea to come in here alone? Im getting nervous just being here, and you two are with me," Weiss said. Ruby shrugged, keeping her eyes locked dead ahead..

"Yang has never been someone to back away from a challenge, Weiss you ought to know that," Blake said. "She would fight an army of alpha's if you would let her." She couldn't help but smile a bit at that, imagining Yang's grin and the laughter that would surely follow from suggesting such an idea. The smiled faded however when Ruby came to a dead stop and pointed to a overturned tree ahead of them.

Walking over, they knelt to examine it and Weiss' eyes widened a bit when she saw an indent of a fist buried into the thick bark of the tree. Along the edges of the indent were black scorch marks. There was only one person they knew who could do that.

"Were on the right track..lets keep looking down through here," Weiss said pointing to another tree in the distance that had the same thing. They got off the path and headed in that direction, looking around for anything odd. Blake noticed a few spent shell casings nearby, and when she picked one up and recognized it as the ammo Yang used in her gauntlets.

Following the path the battle had, they found holes in the ground, a few smashed rocks and various footprints of Grimm, one of which none of them recognized. They were old prints and if you weren't looking for them, it would have been easy to miss them. The trail of destruction continued until they came to a wide open clearing. Now the only prints were boot prints of Yang's and the strange Grimm type.

This clearing was full of empty shells and had a small crater towards the center of it. Blake didn't know how much ammo Yang kept on her, but even by her rough guess, by the time she had gotten done here, she had to have been nearly spent. That didn't even factor in aura depletion. Yang was the strongest of them and had the most resilient aura, but fighting like this could have drained even her.

They spread out over the area, searching for anything that could continue to point them in the right direction, but for a few minutes they saw nothing. Until Weiss saw something stuck in the mud just past the tree line that would take you to into the forest again. Walking over she knelt down and picked it up. It was a backpack, a compact travel version. Judging by the weight it was still full of supplies. She started wiping off the muck to see it better

Then she felt her heart stop for a moment when she saw the symbol of a burning heart stitched into the side of it. She called Blake and Ruby over and they had a similar reaction to her own, Blake's eyes widening in horror and the color draining from Ruby's face.

Inside they found a small first aid kit with bandages and disinfectant, some pain medicine, a couple bottles of water that hadn't been opened yet, and a few snack bars. In one of the side pockets they found the folded up flyer that had advertised the job, probably taken from the notice board in town, and the other was a picture of team RWBY.

The picture was taken after their first successful post-graduation job. They were all banged up, but despite that were still smiling at the camera. Yang and Blake were to the left, Yangs arm around Blake's waist pulling her in tightly while Blake leaned against her. Ruby and Weiss were to the right, Ruby's hand wrapped tightly in Weiss' while holding up a peace sign to the camera. Weiss had just kept her other hand at her side, smiling almost as much as Ruby.

Weiss would have smiled at the picture if it wasn't for the other thing she had noticed. When she closed the pocket and went to flip the pack over to the other side, she saw the left strap had been torn in two and on the back of it was a dried reddish-brown splatter. She thought it was mud for a second, but a closer look and she knew better. "Blood…she was wounded," she whispered.

Blake's heart dropped down into her stomach and a cold chill went through her body. So Yang's aura HAD been broken during the fight, at least wore down enough to where the Grimm's attacks were able to really hurt her. "We need to find her-NOW," Ruby said, voice tight with panic. They followed the footprints further in, Ruby barging ahead.

They didn't find any more discard shells or destroyed pieces of the environment. Yang's prints were more shaky now, like she was struggling to continue to move. Their sense of dread was only escalated when both trails ended with no sign of Yang. "No..no no, she can't..where did she go from here?!" Ruby said, looking around frantically for ANY sign of where. Weiss and Blake exchanged a look, knowing that it was pointless.

"Ruby-" Weiss started, but Ruby wasn't listening. Tears in her eyes, she began to shout Yang's name, like it was going to do anything other than drawing any stray Grimm to them. All the negative emotions coming off of them, they were already in danger.

"Ruby!" Blake said, loud enough to be heard over her cries. Ruby spun, looking at them. "I get your upset..we all are, but we have to keep our heads. If were going to find her-" she was cut off when Ruby shoved her, hard. She stumbled back a few steps, eyes wide as Ruby stalked over to her, shoving her again.

"What the hell do YOU care, huh?! You ran off and left her again, and didn't give a damn what it did to her! Now you see what you helped cause and you suddenly care?!" She snapped, shoving her again. Weiss went to stop her, but Blake shook her head. After one more, Blake caught her arms on the next one and quickly pulled Ruby into a tight hug. Ruby struggled against her for a second, before tears started to run down her face, sobs wracking her. She collapsed onto her knees, Blake going with her.

"W-We have t-to save her.. she can't..she can't be gone. Someone has her.." Ruby whispered. Weiss walked over and joined Blake in hugging her, the two of them also crying now. Weiss took one of Ruby's hands and squeezed it tightly.

"We will, Ruby..i promise you, we will." They sat there until Ruby was calm enough to head back, Blake's fist clenching tightly as they started walking. Whoever took Yang was going to pay dearly for it. That was a promise. She could tell from the look on Weiss and Ruby's faces they were in agreement.

- **Salems castle-**

There weren't many things that truly scared Watts. Everything he'd seen in his life had hardened him to most things. But the sight of a wild-eyed Yang Xiao Long, arms wrapped tightly in chains was a frightening sight. She lunged for him as she was dragged by, snarling through the mask that had been tied to her face. Her vivid red irises with the pitch black where there should be whites glaring at him with a murderous intent made him take a step back. She continued to snarl angrily as she was pulled away.

Merlot followed close behind the men dragging Yang along, his body riddled with slash marks, the right side of his face slightly swollen. "You've certainly seen better days, haven't you?" He said, walking beside him as they went further in.

"Yes well..I'm sure your aware of the various risks that come along with this method of researching. But as you can clearly see, I was successful. The parasite is in complete control of her body, just as I intended."

"And what of her mind?" Watt's asked with a raised eyebrow. He chuckled when Merlot shook his head. "That explains the wounds. Her mind hasn't been entirely controlled so she lashed out at you because she knows you've done this to her." Merlot glared at him

"You are not telling me anything I don't know already, Watts." They followed the men with Yang up one of the winding staircases towards Salem's throne room. "Getting the chains on cost me a man. She slashed him right across the throat. Bled out before we could do anything for him."

"Expendable men go fast around here of late. Taurus, our White Fang agent, reported that his men in Vacuo have been getting culled faster than he anticipated. Resistance from the Vacuo huntsman and their faunus allies has been stiffer than we thought it would be. Salem has ordered him into hiding for the time being."

"A smart move. When we move on one of the academies we'll need all the firepower we can get." They entered the room, falling silent as they did so. Salem sat in the center of the room on her throne, staring intently at Yang. Her eyes flicked to the doorway as the men entered.

"Welcome back, doctor. I can assume this was what you needed to show me so urgently?" Merlot nodded. Salem stood and approached Yang, slowly circling her, studying the malicious intent that was radiating off her. "Tell me, Merlot, did you intend to make a mindless killing machine?" She said. Merlot swallowed a lump in his throat before speaking.

"No, your grace, I did not. The parasite I used was, in essence, the prototype. I wasn't certain what effects it would have, but as you can tell, she was been converted so that she is no longer in control of her body." Salem folded her hands behind her back, raising an eyebrow

"And yet to move her from place to place you require these chains and two men to hold her. Do you not see how an asset that can't even properly follow orders is useless to us?" Merlot's face paled slightly at the cold edge her voice held.

"With all due respect, your grace, Mistral wasn't built in a day. Im certain with some more tests I can have her pacified and ready for orders soon-"

"Or I could, ma'am. Provided the good doctor would be so kind as to share his notes with me on this subject." Merlot glared and Watt's merely smirked. "What? Surely it wouldn't be that big of an issue-"

"Enough," Salem said, eyes flashing briefly as she glared at the two men. "I haven't the time to entertain your petty squabbles, nor do I have time for you two to decide who need to lead this project. I have ways to solve this myself."

She approached Yang slowly until she stood directly in front of her. The men holding the chains held tightly as Yang tried to lunge for her. Salem showed no reaction, slowly raising two of her fingers to rest against Yang's forehead. A red Grimm seal slowly formed on the spot, Salem's eyes glowing along with it. It wasn't obvious what was happening at first, but it soon became clear.

"My god.." Merlot said softly. Slowly, the color of Yang's skin began to change color on the spot, then began to spread. From its slightly tan, it was becoming a ghostly grey color. As the new effect swept down her face to her neck and then down to her arms, her veins blackened, pulsing and standing up against her skin much like Salems.

When it was done, and Yang's eyes opened again, Merlot could tell it had been a success. Salem reached forward and undid the cover over her mouth. She could see four razor sharp fangs poking put from her lips, two on top, two on the bottom.

"How do you feel, child?" Salem asked. Yang stared back at her before a smirk formed on her face.

"Much better..thank you. Though..I could do without these," she muttered, pulling at the chains around her. Salem glanced at the men who appeared nervous about letting her go.

"Release the bindings. I don't think they'll be necessary from her on in, will they?" She asked. Yang shook her head and after getting a quick nod from Merlot was well, they hurriedly undid the locks and stepped back quickly as the chains fell away. Yang flexed her hands into fists back and forth a few times before looking back up to Salem.

"I have never felt this strong..I feel amazing," she smirked, feeling the power flowing through her body. Salem nodded, a smile on her face as she turned back, taking her seat once again. "So now what?" Yang asked, putting a hand on her hip.

"I believe we need to put your new power to the test, my dear. And I think I know the perfect one. There's a settlement in Vacuo that has been giving my forces a lot of problems. Not only do they have several trained warriors, they have a full team of hunters reinforcing them. A more senior team that graduated from Beacon a couple years ago, it Watt's information is accurate."

The smirk on Yang's face turned more malicious at the mention of that. "Sounds perfect..i can't wait. Which team is it?" She asked as she turned to Watt's.

"Team CFVY, I believe. A rather strong team alone, much less with other warriors there with them. Your certain you are up to this task?" He asked. Yang's eyes glowed brightly as she turned and headed towards the door.

"Just point me in the right direction. I'll take care of the rest," she growled. She felt a rush inside like no other, a need to fight, hunt..and to kill. And she embraced it happily. Anything that granted this kind of power was well worth it. As she left, Salem smiled at the two scientists.

"This shall be interesting to see."

 **I do hope you guys enjoyed this returning chapter. Im going to do my damnedest to not disappear like that again, then again I can't really help being sick, can i?**

 **See you next time folks!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey there everyone, and welcome to this newest chapter of Corruption. Guys, its unreal to me how awesome you lot are. All the support you gave me during my break was amazing and it's a big reason why I'm still here doing this. Please enjoy**

- **Vale, 3 days later** -

Once Ruby and the others had sent the details of their attempted rescue mission to him, Ozpin had taken immediate action. An official missing persons mission was posted, and several huntsman had been deployed to follow it. In addition to doing that, he had gotten ahold of Qrow as well to have him use his contacts to aid in finding her. Team JNPR had visited them, promising to go with them the moment they had a solid lead on where to go.

It was frustrating to be put on the sidelines for this part, but only so many hunters were allowed to be focused on a search and rescue job at a time, and by the time the remainder of RWBY got back, that max had been reached. While Blake was outraged and was who knows where right now, Weiss was thankful, knowing Ruby was in no shape to go.

Ruby had watched all this, and listened to all the promises, but she still hadn't spoken much in the past couple of days outside of answering a few questions here and there, and it was starting to worry Weiss. She hadn't even responded when Ozpin said they wouldn't be sent out on the search.

Currently Ruby was sitting in the weapons workshop of their shared apartment, but wasn't really doing much, just fooling with the same part over and over every time Weiss had checked on her. Finally she couldn't take it anymore. She walked into the workshop and approached her.

"Ruby…Ruby come sit with me," She said gently, carefully pulling her girlfriends hands away from the workbench. Ruby didn't even try to stop her, allowing herself to be guided to the living room. Weiss sat her down, wrapping both arms tightly around her. She felt Ruby start to tremble a bit after a few minutes of sitting without a word. "Shhh…" Weiss whispered, her hand slowly stroking through her hair.

"What if…what if she's gone for good Weiss?" Ruby asked in a tiny, choked up voice. Weiss shook her head, pressing her lips to the top of her head and tightening her hug further.

"You can't think like that, Ruby. Im not entirely sure what could have happened to her, but she is SO strong, and I don't believe for a moment she's gone. Someone has her, and someone knows something, and I can promise you right here and right now, that we will find whoever this is and make them pay." Ruby stared up at her, her silver eyes still full of tears and it made her chest clench uncomfortably. If there was any sight on all of Remnant that could break Weiss' heart it was Ruby crying. "I promise," she repeated softly.

She cupped her cheek with her hand and leaned down, pressing her lips against hers. Ruby reached up and put her hand over the one on her cheek, returning the kiss. After a moment, Weiss separated from her a bit, placing her forehead against Ruby's. "Better?" She asked. Ruby smiled a bit and nodded silently, closing her eyes and just letting her girlfriends presence soothe her.

Weiss definitely didn't give herself enough credit when it came to being there when Ruby needed her. There had been numerous times over the last couple years that, if it hadn't been for her support, Ruby didn't know how she would have ended up. Weiss may have liked to downplay those times, saying that as her girlfriend it was simply what was expected of her. But Ruby never would. She would always be thankful, and she considered herself the luckiest girl on Remnant to have Weiss all to herself.

Their relationship hadn't been the smoothest thing at the start. She hated to admit it to herself, but Ruby hadn't taken well to all the secretive behavior back at the beginning of things and it caused a lot of problems between the two of them. But that was behind them now. There was no one, outside of her family members, that she loved more than Weiss. Wrapping her arms around her shoulders, Ruby opened her eyes a bit. "I love you Weiss," she said softly.

Weiss smiled and brushed some hair away from Ruby's face. "I love you too, Ruby." The moment was broken by a knock on the door. Weiss kissed her forehead before standing up and heading over to answer it. When she opened the door, her eyes widened a bit seeing Qrow standing there. "Qrow? Why are you here?"

"Just figured I'd check on you girls before I head back out. Mind if I come in?" Weiss nodded and stepped to the side, allowing him to walk into the apartment. Qrow walked over to Ruby, grimacing a bit as he took in her appearance. He knelt down and playfully ruffled her hair. "Hey kiddo…how you holding up?" He asked softly.

"About as good as you'd think, Uncle Qrow," she said, her hands fidgeting in her lap. Weiss took the seat beside her and took her hand into her own, squeezing it tightly. Ruby smiled a bit at this, but it fell away as she looked back to Qrow. "Is..dad one of the people they sent out?" She asked.

"Yep. He was halfway out the door before I got done letting him know what was going on. You see where your sister gets her..attitude from," he chuckled softly. Ruby tried to smile, but it came out as a pained look that made Qrow sigh. "Look kiddo..I'm not going to tell you everything will be okay..your probably sick of hearing that, even though you should be believing that. Just..try not to let yourself fall apart, okay? All of us, Yang included, need you at your best, right Weiss?" His eyes flicked towards her, startling her for a moment before she nodded her agreement.

"I-I know..I just feel so helpless," Ruby said softly. Qrow smiled sadly, nodding at this. He understood that feeling better than most. "Your right though..I need to be ready for when we go out," Ruby continued, her free hand balling into a fist as she tried to sound as confident as she could.

"That's my girl," Qrow said, messing up her hair again. Qrow stayed for a bit longer, going over who was out looking at where, making sure they were kept up to speed. When Qrow was heading to the door to leave, Weiss walked with him.

"Ruby, sweetheart, can you go get my scroll for me?" Ruby nodded, heading back towards their bedroom. Weiss turned back to Qrow. "Level with me…what are the odds this is going to end well?" She said softly. Qrow let out a breath, making sure Ruby was out of earshot before answering.

"Not great…matter of fact, pretty freaking slim. No trail, no witnesses, nothing. I don't know what were going to do." He opened the door and walked out just as Ruby returned with her scroll.

"Weiss? Everything okay?" Ruby asked. Weiss shook her head and smiled, giving her a nod. "Well um..would you maybe want to watch a movie or something? I think that might get my mind off this for a little while," she said.

"Certainly. You go pick something out and get it going, and I shall make us some popcorn to eat while were watching it," she said. Ruby smiled a little and hurried off to dig through their shelves where they kept the movies.

The movie was an animated comedy that Weiss didn't really care for. Some parody of a military, one wearing blue armor the other wearing red, constantly bickering about flags, what to name vehicles, stupid stuff such as that. Ruby adored them though, and hearing her giggle and smile at the jokes was what made it bearable to sit through.

Weiss wrapped both arms tightly around Ruby, bringing her in close. Ruby rubbed her face into Weiss' neck, smiling softly as she continued watching the screen. "Thanks for this Weiss..I don't know what I'd do without you," she said softly.

Weiss kissed the top of her head gently, smiling down at her. "Your quite welcome..and likewise. Im pretty sure I'd be lost without you," she said. Ruby responded by snuggling into her further and Weiss could only roll her eyes playfully as she looked back to the screen.

- **Juniors club, Downtown Vale** -

Drinking was typically something Blake avoided like the plague. Various times during her relationship with Yang she had been dragged to clubs just like this one, and Yang would always have a few too many. Sometimes it was amusing, but more often than not it ended up with her puking and being an utter mess until the next morning. That, and the fact that she couldn't really handle much of the stuff anyway, made a powerful deterrent.

Now here she was, sitting on one of the stools at the bar, half finished drink still in her hands as she stared down at it. She had been worried about being bothered, but she supposed she was giving off enough of a 'screw off' vibe that the other patrons got the hint. "You planning on finishing that drink tonight?" Junior asked, walking by to grab a bottle for another customer.

Blake shot him an angry glare that caused him to visibly shake. "I didn't realize it was a race. You'll get paid for it when its gone, so kindly shut your mouth and leave me be," she snarled. Junior held his hands up in a placating gesture and walked back to the other customer.

Blake shook her head and took another sip, the stuff burned her throat as it went down, but the warmth that followed was comforting in a small way. She knew she should probably be with Ruby and Weiss, but after her discussion with Ozpin, she'd needed to get away for a bit. She didn't want to snap at them because of her own problems, gods knew Ruby in particular didn't deserve that at the moment.

She'd been plagued with guilt since they discovered the battle site. Going over in her head more than a handful of times the sour way their relationship had ended, and all the times she could have called and made things right, or at least tried to, and she just didn't.

Stupid. That was the only word she kept coming back to the longer she thought about it. If she had just sucked it up and tried to mend things, Yang wouldn't have thrown herself into the missions to the degree she did, she wouldn't have reached her limit and whatever had happened to her wouldn't have happened.

Her grip on the glass tightened and she felt tears well up in her eyes, and she had to quickly wipe them away before they could start running down her face. Junior walked back over and held a hand up when Blake's eyes shot up to glare again. "Easy there, I come in peace." Blake's eyes narrowed, but he didn't flinch back. He cleared his throat, and handed a receipt over to her.

Looking down at it, Blake saw it was her copy of her drink order. It had a small blue stamp that read 'paid' across it. The anger on her face replaced with confusion, Blake looked up at him again. Junior let out a breath and placed a hand on the bar. "I'm…sorry. To hear about blondie I mean. The news reporting her missing was on earlier."

Blake was taken aback for a moment. "I thought you hated Yang."

Junior chuckled softly. "I hated that she would smash my place up, and I wasn't fond of how she'd treat me if I didn't have info for her… but she was still a good customer. And well..she seemed like she really cared about you all the times you two were in here. Can't be easy for you, and I hope it works out." She nodded slowly and he bowed his head a bit, walking away.

She hadn't been expecting that from Junior of all people, but she supposed that was what Yang was capable of-even someone who appeared to hate her was sorry she was gone.

After finishing up her drink, she decided to go for a brief walk around Vale before heading back. She passed a few more shops and restaurants where she and Yang used to frequent, every memory stinging more and more the longer it went on. Yet despite that pain, she also used them to fuel her determination.

"I'll fix this. If it's the last thing I do, Im going to get her back," she said softly. Whatever happened between the two of them after Yang was back, she'd cross that bridge when they got it. As long as Yang was back and safe, she would accept whatever waited for her.

- **Sullist, Northwestern Vacuo** -

Coco stretched her arms over her head, her back making a satisfying popping sound as she did so. She was sitting atop one of the two watch towers that were built along the walls of the settlement, keeping a lookout. The place wasn't built in the worst area she'd ever seen. A large set of mountains to the west, and a huge stretch of desert to the east.

Any enemies trying to get here from either direction would have a hell of a time of it. Still, that seemed to matter little to the grimm of late. This place had been getting terrorized more and more to the point where this temporary protection detail had been expanded indefinitely.

Coco couldn't really understand it. Sullist was a just a dust mining community. A relatively large one maybe, but still just a mining town and grimm couldn't do anything with dust regardless. And the people were usually in pretty good spirits, all things considered. What could the grimm be drawn to here that was causing the frequency and ferocity of these attacks? It was an oddity for sure, and Coco had been stumped for answers.

"I've been out here too long…my brain must be baking alive," she muttered, tugging at the collar of her shirt.

If there was one thing Coco hated most about missions in Vacuo, it was the gods damned heat. Her normal combat attire had been a nightmare to wear here, with the sleeves and the material it was made out of. Thankfully after the last time they were here prior to this protection detail, she had a modified version made of it. The sleeves were much shorter, and the material breathed easier. It helped, but she wasn't a fan of the design as a whole.

Fox would probably laugh if she made that comment out loud, though. He enjoyed mocking her to no end for her obsession with fashion, but come on, a girl had to look her best. She jumped a bit when the door leading to the staircase opened, smiling when she saw who it was. "Hey there, Velv. Come to keep me company?"

"Yep! My patrol is done for the time being, and what kind of girlfriend would I be if I didn't come keep you from falling asleep on watch and killing us all because a grimm wave comes?" She said in a exaggerated sweet voice as she sat down next to her in the chair Coco pulled up for her. Coco rolled her eyes as she took her hand tightly.

"You are really lucky I love you as much as I do. I probably would have smacked Fox for that comment," she said. Velvet giggled and kissed her cheek, making her grin. She supposed if there was an upside to being in Vacuo, it was that Velvet was always more relaxed here than any other kingdom, given the fact faunus were welcomed here without issue. Not like Mistral, Atlas, and to an admittedly lesser extent, Vale.

"So, how was the patrol, babe?" Coco asked softly.

"It was…odd. I didn't see any signs that the grimm were massing, neither did Yatsu or Fox, but I…I felt something was just off. Like there just felt like there was this dread hanging in the air all around me." Coco frowned and squeezed her hand tighter.

"What the hell is it with this place.." she muttered. Velvet shrugged, resting her head on Coco's shoulder. They sat there in silence for a bit, Coco feeing more relaxed now that Velvet was here. She was trying not to focus on the grimm, but it was hard. After about an hour, she felt Velvet stiffen, and when she looked down the rabbit faunus' eyes were glued to a spot out towards the desert..

She was just about to ask what was wrong, but looking out herself, she saw it plain as day. The very air around the spot appeared to be twisting and warping before slowly appearing to tear open. A black vortex began to expand, encompassing a huge area of space. By the time it stopped growing, it was nearly as wide as the stretch of wall Coco and Velvet were sitting on.

"Oh hell…" Coco breathed in horror as the first few sets of burning red eyes appeared within the swirling black mass. They came by tens, Beowolves, Ursa, every kind of grimm, aside from the flying Nevermore. When two fully grown Deathstalkers appeared last, standing as opposing titans above their smaller counterparts, Coco broke from her stupor and practically smashed the button that triggered the grimm alert.

"Coco I..I think theres someone out there," Velvet said in confusion. Coco frowned and hurried back over, grabbing the binoculars from her pack and looked out towards the horde of grimm. It took a moment to find where Velvet was looking, but when she found the spot, her heart sank.

There, walking through the grimm as though she'd always been able to do so, was Yang. At first, Coco thought she was seeing things, but it was her just..changed. "It…It's Yang," she whispered

"What?! B-But..how is that possible?"

"I don't know Velv..She doesn't look like herself, but I can't imagine that's anyone else. I'd know that hair anywhere"

While they were discussing this, a Seer grimm had appeared beside Yang. When she turned to it, Salem's face appeared within it. "We've arrived at the settlement," she said

Salem nodded, a cruel smile appearing on her face. "Very well. Wipe it out at your leisure. Enjoy this field test of your new power, my dear," she said. Yang smirked, her eyes glowing briefly in anticipation. Salem chuckled as her image faded away.

Yang turned back towards the settlement, and raised her hand in it's direction. "Go! Wipe them out!" With one twisted voice of their various cries, the grimm advanced

 **So! Some Whiterose fluff that i definitely needed to write, a bit of Blake and the start of the Sullist attack. Hope you all enjoyed!**


	5. Update, and a promise

Hey everyone. I know its been ages since the last update. I have no excuses to give, I just wanted to let you all know that the next five chapters of Corruption have been written, it's just a matter of when I can get them typed. Yes, call me old fashioned I still hand write everything before I transfer to the computer. Before I go though, I DO want to explain my absence.

Around the time of the last update, my health took a nosedive. I ended up being hospitalized 3 times within the span of six months, each time I was bedridden for about five to ten days. All of this came to a head with me needing to have colon surgery to remove part of it that was diseased up and was the central reason I was so sick.

Shortly after that, when I started to recover a bit, I had a close friend, Rose, commit suicide. She was a big part of my life and if all my health problems didn't kick the will to write out of me, that definitely finished the job. However, I made a New years promise to myself I would get back to it and I have. So if you are still interested in this story, I promise it WILL get done.

I also plan to make a one-shot tribute story to Rose. Figured it would help me vent a lot of the pain I still have over it. Cross that bridge when it comes though, I've taken enough of your time

-Hunter


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